Russia and Italy have signed a memorandum on cooperation in the area of remote Earth sensing, according to the Russian state space corporation, Roscosmos.

This memorandum, which will look at the possibility of establishing and using of a new space-based Earth Observing radar system via geosynchronous orbit was signed by Roscosmos Director General Igor Komarov and the President of the Italian Space Agency, Roberto Battiston, as part of the ongoing talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

As published by Roscosmos, the new system will be created with the help of Russian and Italian research and production organization representatives. The system will monitor natural calamities, emergencies, agriculture, nature development and hydrometeorology.

A joint working group from both nations will outline a preliminary design for the GEOSAR system, including architecture, deadlines and estimates, and will distribute the necessary duties and liabilities among the participants. The nations also agreed to look at a possible use of using existing remote Earth sensing structures in Russia and Italy for data exchange data.